His Father's Son
by Jeanniefan78
Summary: This was written for proseac/Liz for the NFA WEE 2013 Exchange. When Tony's father dies suddenly, he discovers some information, among his father's papers, about his parents that he never knew.
1. Chapter 1

**His Father's Son**

**Written by: Jeanniefan78/April**

**Author's Note: **_This story was written for proseac/Liz for the NFA WEE 2013 exchange. This story is a bit different from the stuff I'm used to writing and I got stuck a few times, but by the grace of God, I got unstuck and I had a blast writing this story. There could be some, what others might consider, "out of character" moments, but I did my best to keep in step with each character represented._

**Prompt**_: "Senior dies of a massive heart attack, leaving Tony with grief he never expected feel, along with an administration nightmare. Tony's been named as executor, and while going through his father's papers, he finds evidence suggesting his mother didn't actually die-she disappeared. (Read into that what you will - did she run away, or was she abducted?) He goes on a quest to find her, and along the way, grapples with his conflicting emotions for his parents"._

It had been a few years since Tony's father had come back into his life. During that time, Tony and Senior seemed to be developing a pretty decent relationship. It had been a bumpy road for both of them, but nothing could have prepared Tony for the wild ride he was about to take.

"Oh come on! Seriously?!," Tony whined.

"What?," McGee inquires.

"I just got an email saying that it's time for the annual sexual harassment lecture."

McGee chuckles and shakes his head.

"What are you laughing at, McSmarty Pants? I bet you got the same email!"

"So, what if I did? It doesn't do any good to whine about it."

Although he knew McGee was right, he wasn't about to let him know it. "You hate it as much as I do and you know it, Probie."

"You want some cheese with that whine, DiNozzo?" Gibbs had such a habit of appearing at just the right time.

"Oh hey, Boss. I was just telling McGee how much fun the sexual harassment lectures are."

McGee rolls his eyes.

"What do we have, DiNozzo?"

"Dawson's alibi checked out. His C.O. confirmed he was practicing war maneuvers all day."

"And the bank's security cameras shows that Corporal Stubblefield was at the bank at the time of the murders," Ziva adds.

Tony's cell phone starts ringing.

"DiNozzo… Yeah, that's me… Are you sure about that? I just spoke to my father last night and he was fine!… I see… Thank you for calling."

He hangs up the phone, but stands in place with a look of shock and worry on his face.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs inquires. "What's wrong?"

"It's uh… It's my father. He, uh… He's had a massive heart attack and he's not expected to make it."

"Oh, Tony…," Ziva says, extremely worried.

Tony looks over at Gibbs. "Boss, I need…"

"Go," Gibbs interrupts.

Tony quickly starts gathering his stuff to leave.

"Keep us posted."

"I will, Boss. Thanks." Tony quickly takes his leave.

. . . . . . . . . .

In a short amount of time, Tony finds himself in the air, on his way to New York City. A flight set to be just over an hour seemed to be taking an eternity.

"Can't this plane go any faster?," he thinks to himself.

As he gazes out the window, memories of his mother's passing come flooding back. He was only 8 years old at the time, but he remembers it vividly. Up until the time of his mother's passing, he and his father had had a good relationship. They always found time to talk and hang out together.

But that all changed when his mother died. His father became more and more distant and their relationship dwindled more and more as time went on.

Now his father was back in his life and things were looking up. Tony had to admit his father was really trying and if his father could make the effort, so could he.

And now, just as their relationship was getting better, this crisis had to happen. The thought of losing his father-really losing him, was starting to overwhelm him.

"Please, Dad. Don't do this to me," he says under his breath, still gazing out the window. "Please don't leave me."

Suddenly, he is startled by the intercom on the plane.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we're fixing to begin our final decent into New York City. Please make sure that your seats are in their original upright positions and that your seatbelts are securely fastened."

"Well, it's about time," he mutters.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony sits in his hotel room, staring at the photograph of him and his father on a fishing trip when he was young.

"First Mom, and now, you… It's not fair."

He jumps slightly as he hears a knock on the door of his room. He couldn't imagine who it could be at this hour, especially since housekeeping wouldn't be around for another couple of hours at least.

He gets up and goes to answer the door. Upon opening the door, he half smiles, almost puzzled.

"What are you doing here?"

"I took the red-eye out of Dulles this morning. I thought you could use a friend and I just couldn't stay away."

Tony reaches out and pulls Ziva into a hug. He didn't even try to pretend he was okay. He was anything but okay.

"Thank you."

Ziva breaks the hug. "Tony, you have been there for me when I have needed someone and I want to be there for you and help any way that I can."

"I appreciate it."

"The hotel has a room for me, but it will not be ready till later today."

"That's alright." He steps aside from the doorway. "You can put your stuff in here till it is."

"Thank you," she says as she proceeds into the room. "So, uh… How are you doing?"

Tony ducks his head and looks downward as he sits down on the foot of the bed. "I'm alright, I suppose… I…"

Ziva sits down across the room. She knew he wasn't alright, but she didn't want to push him to talk. She nods her head in understanding.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No, I'm not very hungry."

"Tony, you need your strength… I will buy."

He looks over at her and then, back at the picture in his hand. "I suppose you're right."

He gets up from the bed. "Just give me a few minutes to change."

He grabs some clothes from his suitcase and heads for the bathroom.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tony pauses for a moment at the door of his father's apartment. He takes a deep breath and then, puts the key in the doorknob. As he opens the door and steps inside, he pauses, looks around, and sighs.

"Your father had a nice place."

"Yeah…" Tony suddenly feels a lump in his throat.

He shakes his head. "Uh…"

He starts toward the bedroom. "I think his papers are here in the bedroom closet."

He quickly rummages through the closet and stumbles upon two plastic filing boxes.

"Would you like some help going through these?"

Tony hands her one. "Yeah, if you like. You can go through this one."

"What am I looking for?"

"Copies of his life insurance policy, his will… And if you see anything that resembles a bill of any kind, hold that out, too."

"Alright." Ziva starts going through the box and comes across something that resembles a birth certificate. She grins, but the grin on her face quickly becomes a look of confusion. Her eyes narrow as she reads.

"Tony? I thought you said your mother's maiden name was Paddington."

"It was. Why?"

Ziva hands him the paper.

"My birth certificate." He reads over it and then, his eyes raise when he comes to Mother's Maiden Name.

"What the…! Cherise Mayfield?!"

He pulls the box that Ziva was going through over to himself. "Where'd you find this?"

Ziva hands him an envelope. "It was in this envelope in the front part of the box."

He briefly looks at the envelope, lays it down, and vigorously thumbs through the box. He stumbles upon another envelope and finds it to say: "Junior's New Birth Certificate". He takes the birth certificate out and looks at it.

"Mother's Maiden Name: Paddington, Lucy Katherine…" He scans over it, lays it down, and digs vigorously through the box.

"This doesn't make any sense. Who the heck is Cherise Mayfield?"

"Did she change her name, perhaps?"

"Well, I guess she…" Tony shakes his head and continues digging. "No, something's not right here…" He pulls some papers out and looks them over.

"Divorce papers…" He reads through them and his face falls. He picks up some other papers and reads over them. His eyebrows raise and his mouth slightly hangs open.

"What the…?"

"What is it?"

"My… My mom, she…" Tony pauses as he fumbles over his words.

"The woman I knew as my Mom, she… she wasn't my birth mother. Apparently, when my father and birth mother divorced, my father got sole custody of me and later, the woman I knew as my mom, adopted me."

Tony continues staring at the papers in disbelief. "All this time… I…"

He slams the papers down. "I have to get some air."

Ziva's eyes follow him as he takes off. It pained her to see the look on Tony's face, a look that said he was more hurt than angry.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tony knew his father could be secretive, but this, of all things, he never expected in a million years. What happened? Did she walk out on them or what? And why didn't his father tell him about it?

As Tony stood outside his father's apartment building, these questions and more flooded his mind-questions he needed answers to.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As Ziva lies awake in her hotel room later that night, she thinks back on the relationship she had with her own parents. She, too, lost her mother at a young age. Her relationship with her father had been anything but peachy. Although her father hadn't been an ideal father, she still loved him and believed, in his own way, he loved her.

Within seconds, her thoughts are interrupted by her ringing cellphone.

"Hello, Abby."

"Hey, how's Tony?"

"He is not doing very well."

"Aww… Poor guy. I was really concerned about him, but didn't know if it was a good idea to call him. So, that's why I called you."

"Well, this has hit him hard… and I think a lot harder than he expected."

"Yeah, especially since they've been working on rebuilding their relationship. I'd give anything to still have my father."

"Yeah."

"Well, listen. I'm really glad you're there with him. Give him a hug for me."

"I will, Abby."

"Bye."

"Bye."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey! Welcome back," McGee says, looking up from his work.

"Good morning."

"How's Tony?"

"He is not well, McGee. But, he will be here in a little while."

"He's back already?"

"Yes, we both got back late last night. He is going back another time to clean out his father's apartment."

"Oh, here." McGee hands Ziva a card. "We all signed this sympathy card for Tony."

"I know he will appreciate it." Ziva smiles sadly and then, signs the card and hands it back to McGee.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am fine. I am just sad for Tony. He is taking this really hard."

"Good morning, everyone," Tony says, suspiciously cheerful as he walks up to his desk.

"Morning, Tony," McGee says, cautiously.

"What? No balloons? No streamers?," Tony says with a smile.

"Are you sure you're alright, Tony?," McGee asks, concerned.

"I couldn't be better, Probie. Why do you ask?"

"Uh… No reason, I guess… Here." He hands Tony the card. "We all signed it, as did Kate's team and Director Vance."

Tony takes the card, opens it, and reads it. He feels a lump in his throat and nods his head.

"Thank you. I appreciate it…" He closes the card, puts it in his desk, and gets up. "I'll be right back."

McGee looks on as Tony walks away and then, looks over at Ziva.

"You're right. He's not doing well."

"He also found out some stuff about his parents that he never knew and he…" Ziva gestures with her hands.

"What is it?"

"I really cannot say. He needs to be the one to tell you. And he probably will."

McGee nods in understanding and goes back to work.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Probie, I need a favor," Tony says, strolling back into the squad room.

"Sure."

"I need you to help me find someone by the name of Cherise Mayfield."

"Okay. Who is she?"

"My, uh… My birth mother."

McGee stops typing and looks at Tony. "Your what?"

"My birth mother."

"You were adopted?"

"In a manner of speaking. While going through my father's papers, Ziva and I found my original birth certificate and some divorce papers. My father got sole custody of me and the woman I knew as my mother, adopted me a year after she married my father."

McGee's eyes widen slightly. "You never knew?"

"No."

"Well," McGee says after a slight pause. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Dang it!," Tony cries in frustration as he hits another dead end. He had spent the better part of the night, like many nights over the last few weeks, searching newspapers' websites and other websites in hopes of finding some trace of his birth mother. He had even been to the library in the town of his birth, but still, nothing. McGee hadn't come across anything either.

Tony had his doubts and he wondered whether it was even worth it to try and locate this woman. But his curiosity wouldn't leave it alone.

He had even gone so far as to join a couple of online discussion forums for adoptees, but it didn't seem to help. He felt weird every time he visited, mainly because most of the people he encountered were adopted outright as babies.

Finally in frustration, he shuts his laptop down, puts it away, and wanting to get his mind off it for a while, puts on a DVD of one of his favorite movies.

Just as he is about to press "play", his phone rings.

"DiNozzo."

"Tony, I think I may have found something," McGee says.


	4. Chapter 4

"Probie, are you sure this is the place?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Sarah checked it out herself before she told me for sure." He looks at his phone's screen. "Okay, take a right at the corner."

"There it is," McGee says.

Tony pulls into the parking lot of Finnigan's Restaurant and parks the car. After he shuts the car off, he grips the steering wheel.

"Tony, you know you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." He unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car, with McGee following along behind him.

"Welcome to Finnigan's," a woman says, walking up to them. "How many do we have today?"

"Two please," McGee says.

"This way please." She leads them to a table and seats them. "Your waitress will be with you shortly."

"Is there a woman named Cherise Mayfield that works here?," Tony asks.

"Uh, yes. That's her over there," the woman says, pointing at another woman across the room.

Tony can feel his pulse picking up a little. "Thanks."

He watches as Cherise scurries around.

"What do you think?," McGee asks.

"I don't know. I can't see what she looks like from here." He ducks his head and then, looks out the window.

"Are you sure you really want to do this? You could be opening a huge can of worms here."

"I'm not sure of anything right now, Probie. All I know is this isn't just about my curiosity; this is a missing piece of my life."

"Well, I can't say I'd feel any different if it were me in your shoes. Still, it could just end up causing you more pain."

"That's a chance I'm gonna have to take."

"Don't look now, but here she comes."

"Hello, my name is Cherise and I'll be your server today. What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have water," Tony says.

"I'll have the same," McGee says.

"Okay. I'll be right back with your drinks and to take your orders." She walks away and then, nonchalantly, glances over in Tony's and McGee's direction as if something puzzles her about them.

"So, who do you think I look more like?"

"I don't know. It's hard to say. I see a little of you in her, but you look like your father, too. I do think you got her nose."

"Are you saying I have a big nose?"

"No, I'm not saying you have a big nose, but your father's nose was a bit smaller than yours."

"So, you are saying I have a big nose!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you did. You said…"

"I did **not** say you have a big nose!," McGee says with a slightly raised voice.

"Chee, Probie! Why don't you say that a little louder so the chef can hear you!," Tony says quietly, but forcefully.

"Well, stop accusing me of things I didn't say!," McGee says in a normal tone.

Tony looks up and sees Cherise coming toward their table with their drinks. "Here she comes."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"May I get you gentlemen anything else?"

"Uh no, Ma'am. Nothing for me," McGee says.

"Nothing for me," Tony says.

"Alright. Well, here's your ticket," she says, laying the ticket face down on the table. "Thank you for coming in today."

McGee grabs the ticket. "It's on me, Tony. I'll go pay," he says, getting up from the table.

As Tony watches Cherise scurry around, he really begins to feel like this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Are you alright?," McGee asks as he sits back down.

"Yeah, I… I…"

"Do you want me to wait outside?"

"No, uh… No… Let's just go," he says, getting up and heading quickly out the door with McGee following along behind him.

"What's the matter?" He and Tony get in the car.

"Why'd you change your mind?"

"I just couldn't do it."

"Tony, if I was discouraging…"

"No, you were right. I've had a gut feeling all along that this probably wasn't a good idea and… I just couldn't do it."

They sit there for a moment longer in silence and then, Tony starts the car and drives away.


	5. Chapter 5

"What are you doing out here, DiNozzo?"

Tony looks up from the bench he's sitting on, near the coffee stand in the Navy yard. "I was just getting some fresh air, Boss."

Gibbs sits down next to him. "DiNozzo, I'm not even gonna pretend to know how you're feeling. Loss never feels good, no matter how it comes. Maybe it would help if you talked about it."

Tony looks up at him.

"I know that sounds strange considering who it's coming from, but perhaps it would help you."

Tony looks away. "I knew my dad could be a secretive man, but I never expected anything like this. I'm not angry with him; I just don't understand why he never told me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I recently found out something about my mom that I never knew. I realize that my dad kept it from me to protect me. Maybe, in his own way, your father was trying to protect you from something."

"Yeah, I suppose. I knew something wasn't right when I went to meet her the other day and that's why, at the last minute, I backed out of telling her who I was…. Whatever happened, I guess it's better that I don't know."

"Yeah."

"I miss my dad and I miss my mom. She may not have given birth to me, but she was my mother."

"That reminds me," Gibbs says, reaching inside his jacket and taking out a small envelope and handing it to Tony.

"Your father asked me to hold on to this and give it to you if anything ever happened to him." Gibbs gets up and walks away.

Tony stares at the envelope for a short moment longer and then, tears into it. He takes out the note inside and reads it:

"Dear Junior,

I am asking Agent Gibbs to hold on to this and give it to you if anything ever happens to me. I deeply regret all the time I wasted not being there for you when you needed me most and I'm sorry for not being a better father to you than I was. These last few years of rebuilding our relationship have been some of the best times of my life. Thank you for giving me a second chance. You are the best son a father could ever ask for. I love you with all of my heart and I am honored to be your father.

Love,

Dad"

Upon finishing reading the letter, he breaks down into tears.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On Monday of the next week, McGee comes in and finds Tony working quietly at his desk.

"Hey," McGee says.

"Oh, hey," Tony says, dryly.

McGee brushes off Tony's dry demeanor and strolls over to his desk.

"McGee," Gibbs says, making his way into the squad room. "We need a background on Corporal Davis, now."

"On it, Boss." McGee proceeds to sit down at his desk when suddenly, a look of annoyance spreads across his face as he realizes he just sat on a whoopee cushion. Gibbs, Ziva, and others in the squad room look on in amusement.

Tony looks over at him with a pleased grin on his face. "Been hitting the bean burritos again, McGas Bag?"

"Very funny, Tony," McGee says, standing up and removing the flattened whoopee cushion from his chair.

Ziva giggles and Gibbs grins and shakes his head.

"Well, that's what you get for saying I had a big nose."

"For the millionth time, Tony, I did not say you had a big nose!"

"You did, too!"

"I did not!"

"Did, too!"

"Did not!"

"Did, too!"

"Did not!"

"Hey!," Gibbs says forcefully. "Both of you, shut up and get to work!"

McGee shakes his head and grins as he turns to his computer and goes to work.

THE END

©2013 By Jeanniefan78/April*No part of this story may be performed or reproduced in any way, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the author.*All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Some characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with the owners, creators, cast, crew, or producers of NCIS or any media franchise. This is strictly for fan enjoyment only. No copyright infringement is intended.


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